Mixed messages

In an interesting assertion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi affirmed the need for the government not to interfere in workings of news media organisations. “Mahatma Gandhi had said uncontrolled writing could create huge problems, but he had also said that external interference would wreak havoc. Controlling it [media] externally cannot be imagined,” he said during the golden jubilee celebrations of the Press Council of India.

“The government should not do any interference. It is true that self-introspection is not easy. It is the responsibility of the PCI and those associated with the press to see to it that what appropriate changes you can make with time. Things do not change from external control.” Of course, this message has not resonated with ministers in his government. The one-day ban on NDTV India has not been revoked. Moreover, he spoke nothing of the disturbing developments against journalists in Chhattisgarh and Kashmir, where their very lives are under threat.